Grand jury indicts Nia Wilson’s alleged killer for murder
The man accused of killing 18-year-old Nia Wilson and injuring her sister in a brazen knife attack this summer at an Oakland BART station has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of murder and attempted murder, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Because of the indictment, which was handed down last week, the case against John Lee Cowell will bypass a preliminary hearing and move to trial.
After a Tuesday morning hearing in Alameda County Superior Court, Assistant District Attorney Butch Ford said the move will save an estimated 18 to 24 months of litigation.
“For me, it was really about efficiency, particularly for the family,” he said. “They ask that we try to proceed as efficient as possible so that they could, essentially, have their day in court.”
Cowell appeared at Tuesday’s hearing with a shaved head and dressed in red jail garb. He did not speak on the record. His plea hearing, which was was initially scheduled for Oct. 26, was delayed until Nov. 27, after his defense attorney asked for time to write a “mitigation letter” to the court.
The letter is customary in similar criminal cases.
Prosecutors have not officially announced whether they will seek capital punishment, but last month they opened the door to that option by alleging special circumstances of “lying in wait.”
An attorney representing Wilson’s family in a civil case has previously told The Chronicle that his clients would support a decision by the district attorney to pursue the death penalty.
On the evening of July 22,
Cowell allegedly stabbed both Nia Wilson and her sister Letifah Wilson in the neck as the three were exiting a train at MacArthur BART Station.
Nia Wilson died on the BART platform, and Letifah Wilson was rushed to the hospital with serious but ultimately non-fatal injuries.
Police said Cowell immediately fled the scene, ditching his backpack and sweatshirt in the station’s parking garage. The discovery of his belongings touched off a daylong manhunt as Cowell’s face was blasted out to the public.
He was apprehended the following day at Pleasant Hill BART Station following a tip from another passenger.
Wilson’s killing drew national attention, in large part because initial reports suggested the incident might have been a hate crime. Wilson and her sister are black and Cowell is white.
Police and prosecutors have said there’s no evidence to support this theory. On Tuesday, Ford said the case was ongoing and declined to comment on the issue.
Cowell’s family has said he suffered from mental illness.
In an earlier interview, Alameda County Public Defender Brendon Woods said he was concerned about prosecutors seeking the death penalty against a suspect with a “serious, serious mental illness.”
The criminal hearings coincide with a civil case Wilson’s family lodged against BART in August. That suit alleges Cowell was a known fare evader, and the transit agency should have done more to prevent him from accessing the system.